Sunday’s Golden Vale Foxhounds fixture had something a bit out of the ordinary when it played host to the first ever running of a maiden race which was restricted to handlers who have not trained more than ten winners in their careers – either in the point-to-point fields or on the track.
Having attracted an entry of 21 horses from 18 different handlers it was a field of nine horses that were declared for the finale, a race that was bolstered by an enhanced price fund, with the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee putting forward a bonus prize of €3,000 to the winning owner.
In the end it was the Your Own Story who came out on top to collect that big prize for his owner-trainer Garry Aherne.
Sent off as the favourite following a promising third-place finish at Kinsale on his return in a race which had already seen the second go close at Knockmullen House recently, the five-year-old only had to jump a total of nine fences as the low-lying sun intervened late in the day, and took control of the race early in the straight to win by five lengths.
Cappajune Lady, fresh from her third at Quakerstown seven days earlier on her seasonal bow, came through to take second for the Westmeath Foxhounds point-to-point secretary Heather Kiernan and her mother Ita, with John Cummins’ Maybe Its Time in third.
The victory ensured that Aherne picked-up a cheque for €3,325, with Kiernan received €950 for second and €475 for Cummins’ third-pace finish.
